The clock struck one, and the meeting room sat empty, silent, and still, devoid of any movement or presence.
In the cafeteria, the screech of trays against the metal railing blended with the murmur of conversations, the occasional sigh, and bursts of laughter.
At one table, Sarah and Kendrick ate their lunches while Peter sat beside them, scrolling slowly through his phone with intense focus.
"He's the top of Rowena Harving's class?" Peter said suddenly, his gaze darting between his phone and the pair.
"Really?" Sarah asked, twirling her fork lazily through a lump of mashed potatoes on her plate. She leaned in closer, her eyes narrowing. "Like, number one?"
Peter nodded.
"The star on the tree?" she pressed.
"Yup," Peter confirmed.
"The cherry on the cake?"
Kendrick rolled his eyes as Sarah leaned back, crossing her arms. "That whore," she declared.
"Sarah!" Kendrick snapped, his head whipping toward her.
"I mean, look at him! He probably lap-danced his way to the top," Sarah said, jabbing her fork into the air before turning to Kendrick.
"Wow, that's mean," Peter muttered.
"Welcome to my world," Kendrick said, exhaling deeply.
"Are you seeing how firm this is?" Sarah said, holding her spoon at an idle angle over the unyielding lump of white mashed potatoes on her plate.
Peter watched her in confusion, while Kendrick's brow furrowed as he pondered her words.
"But you saw what he did earlier," Kendrick said, finally breaking the silence.
"Summarized a bunch of notes?" Sarah replied with a smirk.
"He created guidance—simplified guidance, templates," Kendrick countered.
"And he's a writer," Peter added.
"Probably paid some horny nerd with a photo," Sarah said, shrugging.
Peter frowned, his brows knitting tightly together.
"Why are you offended?" Sarah asked, raising a brow at Peter.
"I think we should just keep our differences to ourselves until the end of the internship," Kendrick interjected firmly. "He's a decent, introverted member of our unit. We should respect each other's boundaries and appreciate each other's work."
Sarah turned slowly, a knowing smirk spreading across her face. "Wow. You like him."
"Well, there's a lot to like," Peter chimed in, his tone almost defensive. "He's cute, he's not greedy, and he's serious about his future."
"Now you're just making things up," Sarah scoffed, her lips curling into a smirk.
"I mean, he gave us his notes and shared everything," Peter argued. "Getting into Rowena Harving isn't exactly easy. You have to give him that."
Kendrick took a sip of his drink, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Five percent acceptance rate. Six-figure business experience as an admission requirement. If that doesn't scream success, I don't know what does."
He turned to Sarah, his gaze lingering as if daring her to counter.
Before she could respond, Peter's eyes widened slightly. A figure approached their table, and Peter coughed as he inhaled sharply. The faint scent of cigarette smoke grew stronger as Telly slid into the seat beside them.
Without a word, Telly pulled his chair slightly back from the table. A faint smile played on his lips, though his focus remained entirely on his phone. The cup of coffee in his other hand rose briefly to his lips before he placed it down with deliberate care.
The group fell silent, their conversation suddenly weightless in the presence of their enigmatic teammate.
The sound of approaching footsteps grew louder, cutting through the ambient noise of the cafeteria. Mariah stopped behind Telly, her sharp gaze sweeping over the group.
"So, got any ideas for your first project?" she asked.
Kendrick smiled, sitting up straighter. "Actually, we do."
"Okay," Mariah said simply, turning on her heel and walking away. The group rose in unison, scrambling to follow her.
They trailed behind her through the door, her pace brisk as her heels clicked against the marble floor. "Surprise me," she said over her shoulder.
"We're thinking of a marketplace to integrate with the POS system," Kendrick began, his voice steady despite the quickened pace.
Mariah hummed in acknowledgment, her expression unreadable as they rounded a corner.
"So, businesses or users can order products directly to sell at their stores without needing to update inventory themselves—or through an employee," Kendrick continued.
"You've decided on the architecture?" Mariah asked, barely breaking stride.
"Yes," Kendrick said, pulling up the group chat on his phone and showing it to her. "We chose the first template, but we've added some additional structures to streamline everything and make development faster."
Mariah glanced at the phone and gave a small nod. "I'll see if I can persuade the boss for that," she said, stopping in front of the elevator and pressing the button.
The elevator pinged, and she stepped inside, turning to face them as the doors began to close.
"You know, if this works, you'll be getting shares, stock, and double your allowance," she said, looking each of them in the eye. "So make it work. They'll even cover part of your tuition."
The doors slid shut, but not before Kendrick caught a faint smile on Mariah's face.
After lunch, the rhythmic clatter of keyboards and the steady clicks of mice filled the air, creating a harmonious backdrop of focus and determination.
Kendrick's fingers flew across the keys, his editor's menu filling with neatly organized folders, each uniquely named and properly nested. His movements were precise, almost mechanical, as if his thoughts translated directly into code.
Sarah was deep into design duty, her dual screens glowing with vibrant colors. She glanced between the existing app and her own canvas, borrowing inspiration as she copied color schemes and adjusted layouts with a meticulous eye.
Peter, hunched over his setup, alternated between his code and the emulator. Each save brought a new element to life—a dropdown menu, a button, snippets of text, and images. His brow furrowed in concentration, his focus unshakable.
At the far end of the table, Telly worked silently, testing responses from the existing ecosystem. Each click triggered a flood of new data on his screen, his eyes scanning for inconsistencies with laser-sharp precision. He logged each response without a word, his presence steady and methodical.
The room buzzed with quiet energy, a symphony of focus as the group turned their ideas into reality, the project slowly taking shape.
Sarah stretched, her arms reaching above her head as she glanced around the room. Everyone was locked onto their screens, deep in concentration. Smirking, her fingers drifted to her keyboard.
A unison ping broke the silence, the notification popping up in the corner of everyone's screen.
"Where did you get your nose?" Sarah sent to the group chat.
Kendrick turned to her, his brows furrowing as he nudged her arm. He shook his head, his disapproval clear.
Another ping followed, pulling their attention back to their screens. This time, it was a link from Telly.
Peter clicked on it first, his curiosity shifting to intrigue as the sleek landing page of a hospital filled his screen. He scrolled slowly, examining the list of surgeries.
Then another ping drew his attention. Peter clicked the next link and froze, his eyes widening at the bold, jaw-dropping price of a procedure displayed in the corner.
"Whoa..." he muttered, staring at the number as if it might change.
Meanwhile, Sarah leaned back slightly, her lips pursed in thought. After a moment, she gave an approving nod, clearly impressed by the quality of the resources Telly had shared.
Kendrick, however, frowned as he glanced between the links and Telly. His mind lingered on how much effort Telly must've put into gathering these resources—effort that seemed both meticulous and... uncomfortable. Did he feel forced to share this with us?
Telly exhaled audibly, leaning back in his chair before turning his attention back to his screen.
"Should we call it a day?" Kendrick typed into the group chat.
Telly liked the message without hesitation.
"Should we celebrate?" Sarah added, her suggestion accompanied by a dancing emoji.
Telly didn't respond. Instead, he stood abruptly, slinging his bag over his shoulder. The clunk of the door echoed as it shut behind him.
The trio turned to watch him, each lost in their thoughts.
Peter stared at his screen, still caught up in the overwhelming prices.
Sarah scrolled through her window, her brows furrowing as she studied the impressive surgical procedures.
Kendrick, meanwhile, glanced at the closed door, his chest tightening with the faintest pang of guilt. Did we make him uncomfortable?
The department was silent, the cubicles laid bare beneath the dim orange glow spilling in from the horizon. The faint hum of the air conditioning was the only sound in the stillness.
The glass door slid open, leading the trio into the parking basement below.
"Should we celebrate ourselves?" Sarah asked, her voice breaking the silence.
Peter glanced up from his phone, still scrolling. "I mean... if you guys are okay with that."
"I'm going to head home," Kendrick said, shaking his head lightly.
"Well then, it's off," Sarah replied with a shrug, her tone playful but resigned.
"I'll see my mom too," Peter added, slipping his phone into his pocket.
Sarah smirked but said nothing.
With brief waves, they parted ways, their footsteps echoing faintly as they disappeared into separate corners of the parking lot.
The faint honks and roars of heavy lorries faded into the background, muffled by the hospital walls. Inside the softly lit room, white curtains framed a scene of quiet stillness. The rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor punctuated the silence, each stable spike a small reassurance.
Kendrick sat by the bed, his hand resting gently on his mother's frail, pale one over the railing. Her head tilted slightly against the pillow, her chest rising and falling with slow, steady breaths.
He brushed his palm against hers, his voice soft but firm. "I'm going to make this work, Mom," he said.
Rising from his seat, he leaned over to press a gentle kiss on her forehead.
Outside in the hallway, the hum of a nearby printer filled the air. Kendrick stood by it, retrieving a freshly printed receipt. He smiled faintly as he tucked it into his bag, his wallet slipping back into his pocket with practiced ease.
Turning to leave, his smile faltered.
Ahead, Telly stood by a door, his hand on the handle. He closed it softly behind him before striding down the hallway, his steps purposeful.
Kendrick's breath hitched. He lifted a hand, his fingers curling slightly as if to wave, but froze.
Telly didn't look back. The distance between them widened with every step, and slowly, Kendrick's hand dropped to his side as Telly disappeared around the corner.